“Lone Star,” we hardly knew ye…and we’ll never get to know ye: our ever-faithful friends at Fox have pulled the plug on the freshman series after a mere two episodes, slotting “Lie To Me” as its replacement starting next Monday.
One word, two hyphens, seven syllables: un-fucking-believable.
Except, of course, it really isn’t.
Even though I formally declared it to be the best drama of the fall season, I also made two separate proclamations within Bullz-Eye’s 2010 Fall TV Preview that there was little hope that the show would survive long enough to build an audience, let alone legitimately thrive:
* “Critically, I feel like it’s tracking higher than anything else out there, but it’s a thinking man’s show and it’s on Fox. This is traditionally not a combination that equals ratings success…or a second season.”
* “It’s an intriguing premise for a drama that takes a lot of interesting turns in its first hour, which is probably why it feels way more like an FX series than a Fox series. As such, it hasn’t much hope to make it to the end of the season, let alone beyond.”
You can’t say I didn’t call it. I just wish I hadn’t.
Gosh, it seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in a ballroom in Beverly Hills, listening to the head honchos at Fox talk about their enthusiasm for the series. Kevin Reilly praised creator Kyle Killen’s “singular voice and vision,” saying, “We could not be more impressed with him,” and when asked about the fact that “Lone Star” didn’t feel like a Fox series, Reilly was quick on the draw with a response:
“Well, I think it is a Fox show because I think it’s a noisy conceit. Although many of our biggest hits have had an action component, I mean, you certainly know as you break down our schedule over the years, there’s been plenty of big hits, from ‘Party of Five’ to ‘Ally McBeal.’ We can name many of them, particularly going on the comedy side. I don’t know how much action sustains ‘Glee.’ If you’re talking about just a level of octane, I think that there is a lot of octane in this concept because it is provocative. And it’s going to be provocative both in its central conceit and in terms of the character relationships that you see unfold. And I think they said it very well. It’s going to walk the line. This is not black or white. This is going to be an area of gray area and watching characters make decisions. And I think it’s going to keep people on their toes in terms of how the stories unfold, and that’s what’s going to be exciting about it.”
Hey, it sure kept me on my toes…for two episodes.
As ever, Fox, thanks for very, very little. Next time, maybe take some of that “American Idol” money you’re hoarding and give a show a chance to breathe, huh?
